How to find a job you’ll love

Is your new years resolution to find a new job? Congratulations, you’re not alone! According to statistics, around 15% of the population switch jobs annually. At any given time, over half of the workforce are more or less actively looking for new work.

This means that many, many people are facing an interesting question: How do I pick my next job? Which factors should matter? Which should I forget about?

Many make the decision based mostly on salary, titles and responsibilities. That’s a mistake.

Instead ask yourself this: Will your next job inspire you, energize you and allow you to do great work? Will you be working with nice, talented people and managers? Will your job help people out and make the world a better place?

In short, make sure that your next job is one that will make you happy at work. Here are the steps you should take to make sure that your next job will be just that amazingly great!

1: Decide to switch sooner rather than later

No one has ever told me “I quit Company X in June, that was a mistake. I should’ve stuck around longer.” The vast majority of people who quit, only wish they’d done it sooner.

It’s highly tempting to hang around in the old workplace waiting for things to get better. Don’t! If it’s time to go – make that decision and start actively looking for something else. The longer you stay in a bad job, the more it eats away the energy and self-confidence you need to find a new one.

2: Give yourself time to find your new job

The very first job you look at may be just the right one… or it may be the 20th.

3: Focus on what you like at work, not on what you hate

Many people switch jobs to get away from a bad situation. However, when you’re picking a new job, it’s not enough to look at all the things you want to avoid. Partly because there are an infinite number of things to avoid. But mostly because even if you avoid every single bad thing, that can only guarantee that you won’t be unhappy. To be happy at work, you also need good things, not just the absence of bad.

The best way to find out what you want at work, is to look at what has previously made you love your job. Here’s how you do it:

Think back to some specific situations, where you’ve been happy at work.

Ask yourself what made these situations possible.

Find out what will give you more of these great experiences in the future.

If you want to do examine this in more detail, page 3 of this workbook has a worksheet for doing just that.

4: Ignore salary

Most people think that having a higher income would make them happier. They’re wrong! That is the conclusion of a study by Two Princeton professors, economist Alan B. Krueger and psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. They say this:

The belief that high income is associated with good mood is widespread but mostly illusory. People with above-average income are relatively satisfied with their lives but are barely happier than others in moment-to-moment experience, tend to be more tense, and do not spend more time in particularly enjoyable activities.

I don’t mean to ignore the economic necessities we all face but they should not determine what work we take. What is a 25% raise worth, if it means being stressed, frustrated and unhappy 40/60/80 hours a week?

5: Ignore other irrelevant details

Some people choose their new job because of:

The title. “They want to make me First Assistant Manager.”

Perks. “They’re giving me a new car and use of the executive bathroom.”

Status. “I get 8 direct reports. Today I only have 5.”

Peer pressure. “If I take this job my husband/wife/friends/dad will be really impressed.”

None of these factors will make you happy! Forget about them.

6: Ask for what you want

It’s a lot easier to get what you want if you actually ask for it. In your job interviews, let them know that being happy at work matters to you, and tell them what it takes to get you to love work.

It’s true that asking for these things may mean not getting the job, and that’s precisely the point! If that job won’t make you happy, you don’t want it!

7: Make that job great

It’s up to you to find a good job, and then it’s up to you to make it a great job!

You can sit passively on your butt and wait for your co-workers and your manager to make you happy – but that means nothing will ever happen. It’s your responsibility to:

Know what makes you happy at work

Tell others about it

Do something about it

8: Make yourself free to leave

A bad job is bad. A bad job that you can’t get out of is excruciating. In fact, knowing that you’re free to leave can make it easier to make a job great, as I wrote about in a previous post.

Related

Post navigation

110 thoughts on “How to find a job you’ll love”

As usual, this is another great article. I wish I could convince more people of the reality that being happy at work is a hell of a lot more important than how much you make (at least, at a certain minimum level) or what kind of status, etc it brings you.

A lot of this even works for making the job you’re in now a lot better, if there’s potential for that.

Great advice. I’ve been going through some job transition and the hardest thing for me is giving myself time. After being unemployed for six months (and LOVING it!) I took the first job that was offered to me. A mistake. So I left after 5 months for what I thought was a better job, but now I’m finding that still, it’s not the right job for me. So, I’ve given myself permission to get out. Wish me luck!

I just left a job that was an extremely poor fit for me — it made me miserable but I was making good money. On a whim, I applied for a position I had been considering for about five years and received an offer.

I’m taking a 25 percent pay cut to close a chapter of my life that needed to close years ago.

Honestly, I don’t know whether this will take me to the happy place, but it is certainly closer to what I feel is “right.” However, right up until the moment I gave notice, I was making myself sick worrying about the pay cut. Two things helped me through it:

1) I learned a long time ago that if money isn’t your problem, money won’t be your solution and

2) The budget penciled out.

As soon as I gave notice, I knew it was the right decision. My boss said a number of nice things which, if she’d said them earlier, might have led me to a different decision. And that in itself was a reason to leave.

Mike: That is my quest – to get as many people as possible to reconsider the value of happiness at work and to prioritize it over money, titles and power. The good thing is that more and more people are coming to this realization – things are definitely shifting away from the whole “my job is just a job” attitude.

Inquisitive: Good luck. Your story shows the value of taking some time finding the next job instead of just accepting the first offer that comes along.

Uneasy: Yay, way to go! If there’s one thing I have learned from life it’s that every single time I have worried about money, things have worked out fine in the end. Worrying really didn’t help in any way.

Isn’t it interesting how praise sometimes only comes to us too late!? Why should praise be such a hard thing to get, considering how effective and easy it is!

Alex – great post. I went through a stretch of job switching in the late 90’s, and I learned many of these lessons the hard way. The bottom line is always move toward something you want rather than run away from something you hate. In my work with mentoring other professionals, the first thing I ask them to do is determine their own values, goals, and their “true north” – often that helps them make better career decisions.

I am keen to work through your workshop exercises on how to look at what you really enjoy. I spent 9 months last year looking for a new job. I got offered one that I turned down as I thought that the environment would be too restrictive and then was offered another one that had the characteristics that I ‘thought’ I would enjoy.. contact with students and team working.
Sadly the job has very little contact with students and is deadly. As for teamwork,,, well we all get on ok but that doesn’t constitute teamwork – not in my book anyway . I don’t want to leave without something else to go too – and I am afraid of making the same mistake again. I will be looking to see if I can change the emphasis of the job and will use the exercise first to try and highlight exactly what it is that I enjoy.

The same goes for business selecting customers. Yes, they should be selected. I want customers whom I can delight. Not ones that want me to be a shoulder to cry on as they bitch and moan about stuff. ‘Cos you can be sure as anything that the next person they speak to, they’ll be moaning and bitching about you – deserved or otherwise.

Timothy: Yes! It has to be toward. With a healthy respect for the things that haven’t worked for you, that you want to avoid, but mostly with your dream destination in mind. True north is a great metaphor for that, because the compass needle can only point towards that goal.

Deb: That doesn’t sound like a nice situation, but at least you’re aware of it. Please let me know how the exercise works for you! And thanks for the kind words about my blog, I’m delighted you like it!

Dennis: Yes! I could not agree more. Maybe we could make a list of “how to select customers you’ll love.”

I work in a resteraunt, have been doing this for 20 sum years.My problem is my boss expects us to be perfect. If we make even 1 little minor mistake, he chews us out in front of other employees and sometimes customers. Yet if he makes a mistake it doesnt seem to matter.
I am so tired of this, yet when you try to reason, or explain your side of the story, he just rambles off, most of the time he wont even let you get a word in inch wise.Yet if I look for another job, how do I know for certain I will not be treated the same way.How do you know ,from an interview, that you have landed a good job, where a boss will repect you?

Alex,
Alex,
hello. Thanks for the stories and the posted comments. They’re really helpfull. I’ve changed my job three times in the last seven years. I’m 29 now, and I’m evaluating in changing again. The first I time a left, I made a mistake, because the company and co-workers werent cool at all. So I learnt about it, and started to look again but asking myself some of the questions you say. So, here is my advice, try really hard looking what you think makes you happy at work: what you do, what the company does, what the compromise with the societe is, e..

That will make that your heart spread all over the company your happiness when you are there. Think that is the most of the time you’re there.

You bring up such important points – thank you! One practical way I’ve discovered to have happiness at work I can share with your readers – use a tool that helps you find your true passions.

Dr. Brian Schwartz has 30 years’ experience as a career psychologist helping people find the career that makes them happiest – by helping people determine what motivates them, what skills they have, and which career is right for them. He’s distilled his work into a great online tool – http://www.careerdna.net. Thanks!

I am taking this article very seriously. Thank you for it! I am currently working on the most anti-motivating job ever. + the company HR policies are not to even talk about. Will try to stand it for over summer. My problem is, I don’t really know, what kind of a job would make me happy. I feel I am just drifting and it is making me sort of numb and extremely frustrated. So now, I will study some more material linked to your blog and hopefully get myself organised. Happy job, here I come!!

This is a terrific article and it is very helpful because I am currently looking for work. I want the next job I select to be a good fit. A prospective employer asked me what was more important to me, the job that I wanted or the money. Thanks to you, the answer was a no-brainer: the job, of course. Money is not insignificant, by any means, but I think that I would rather make less money in the short run and actually like my job.

Hello, my name is Shiloh Stephens and i really enjoyed your article on how to find a job you’ll love. I am a full time student-graduating from highschool-so i can attend collage to study to become a recording artist/3D-design artist/writer. In the past I have been influenced by others in to thinking that writing may not be the best career choice for me, and that another career choice may be wiser to fit my financial needs. I have always had a passion for writing and i hope to become a great author like Ernest Heming one day. Hemingway did so many things in his life its like he lived a thousand lives. From running with the bulls, to shooting mountain lions, and participating in the spanish civil war, Hemingway was always doing something adventurous. He must have written a couple hundred books, not including the millions pages he must have written in his life time. Furthermore, I have been told that that writers do not make that much money. I figure if Ernest Hemingway can do all the great things he did as writer, than why can’t I. Of course to even get close to his amazing acheivements i would have to start right now. In addition, reading this article helped me realize a few things. For one it helped me realize that choosing a job based on money or to impress or satisfy other people is as ridiculous as not doing something because you are afraid of what others might think. I feel that that is one of the worst things that a human being can do because it limits all of their possibilty’s and confines them to a prison of fear which can be hard to free one self from after doing it for so long. Also, One should choose a job that is fun, enjoyable, challenging, and that makes you want to go work to have a good time. Its not a party mind you, but you should enjoy work. For me creating and watching something turn into exactly what i had in my minds eye that i didnt know think i could create is invigorating and challenging. As my 3-D Design teacher once told me “art is what makes realize you have a soul and that art is what saved my life, with art i would be dead.” I can create and love my life because of art, it is what makes me whole and as i aspire to create more works of art they only get better, and as do i as a human being. because art is like my teacher, it teaches me patience and work ethic. if you step away from your art you lose all your skills, like everything else that is ever worth doing art takes practice to devlop your skills. like the poster in the baseball dug out of my former Warrior highschool baseball team says “strive for perfection and have fun!” I want a job that we will take me places, where i can be free to have fun and express my ideas and creativity, but more importantly that pushes me to my full potential. I want a job that i am in love with, that makes me happy, where i wake up in the morning and say this is what i want to be doing for the rest of my life. If i have to struggle to get there than so be than so be it, because like with all goals and successess in life it takes hard work to get there. It takes a constant dedication and desire to overcome the sky high obsticles towering in your way. I guess thats why they tell you to reach for the sky, or to reach for the stars so if you miss you land on the clouds.

Hello, my name is Shiloh Stephens and I really enjoyed your article on how to find a job you’ll love. I am a full time student-graduating from Westmont high school this year-so I can attend De Anza collage in the fall to study to become a recording artist/3D-design artist/writer. In the past I have been influenced by others in to thinking that writing may not be the best career choice for me, and that another career choice may be wiser to fit my financial needs. Well what I have to say to them now is that I want to create, and that I am a creator, and writing and art seems to be the best way for me to create so that is what I am going to do regardless of the time, the effort, or the money it takes to do it. I have always had a passion for writing and one day I hope to become a great author like Ernest Hemmingway. Hemingway did so many things in his life and it

My name is Anon. I work for a state agency (US) that is kind of like a quasi-monopoly. I hate it because there is no need for any sort of integrity as it pertains to the use of taxpayer monies. We currently have a java app that is 3 years behind schedule and all of the same people are still happily employed at 100k+ overtime and there is absolutely no deadline in sight. In a REAL company, the so-called dev managers would’ve been out on their ass on the pavement after about a 6 month slip, at the most.

I am also being paid well, but part of that is just because they can afford to have individual people hired out for separate roles like documentation, configuration management, PM, Systems Engineer, etc. Whereas a real company would have several people’s functions all combined into one.

They would have deadlines that actually mean something. For example if they have to upgrade a minor version of java to the next higher version, they act as if it is the end of the world and that they will have to have 90 more days, etc. Then QA speaks up and says that well, this will have to take another 60 days, etc. And the cycle continues.

I work for someone that I like ok, but frankly I feel like a whore for working there and leeching off of the taxpayers. As a consultant, all of us have to be conscious of the fact that we are billing the state for millions, and need to have it reflect the time accurately. However, recently I have come to believe that the entire project is a fraud, and that negates the overall integrity, since the overall context is flawed.

Also I am using less than 0.0000000000000000000000000000000001% of my IT skills, since as I said above they have enough money to buy people and put them on the shelf.

So when you have in this case, more people than work, it creates an environment of hostility and backbiting. As an IT pro I have to be sure that I keep my skills up, and this job is not providing that, either. So I am basically left to hit the job market at some point. My biggest challenge is — how to survive for the remaining time — however long that is — while not letting my skills go to waste totally?

Wow, thanks for posting that. You are so right. I consider myself one of the lucky few who honestly look forward to going to work. This is great advice and a line of thinking that can inspire out of the box creativity in your job search.

I’ve been in the same job for 28 years. Now with my children grown and moved away, I feel the time has come for me to pursue something brand new. How? When? Where? I’m not sure how to decide, I’ve always thought about teaching, or social services, but at the age of 47 I can be pretty sure this will be my last career so I want to make it a great one, I’m very analytical and hands on, I’ve been my own boss for so long, I’m not sure if I will make a good employee. HELP!!!! I don’t know where to go from here and make my dream a reality.

Hey,
Got a great relief after reading the article.I am currently looking for a job where i could explore myself as well as have fun while at work.Its nothing like I am not satisfied with my present job,but the thing is that I want a salary hike.
Yesterday I gave an interview and I could very well guess that it was not a very good workplace and I could already the unhappiness of the place.I guess I should better wait for some better oppurtunities

Hi All,
It was by coincidence that i happened to Read Alex article.There was genuine Question.If you dont like the Job you are doing,Why don’t you just quit. Many of us stick as i did for the sake of social security,status,money or because i wasn’t prepared to face my friends or collegues saying i am doing nothing.
Its difficult to find a job you like,But if you make a list of what your intrest are and what job will suit you .You should try getiing the profession which you like.mind you you will reach the top post withinn few years.Just because your commitment will be more than 100% .
It wasnt easy for me either but i enjoyed starting up a business myself and quitting the job which i hated from the day one ,forget the best salesperons awards taht i got many times.It never gave a value to me .
You need to say’I get paid for the job i like to do’.

I think we must not choose the job as many people choose it or to the choice of someone else.Job we select must get use of our skills and suit with our qualifications.we must think about the service rendered to the society from us by doing that job.it should be comfortable and stress free to us.
I expect to be a doctor in future.For that I try my best.And I think all the people who wants to find a suitable job for themself,and you tried alot to achieve your goal, you will defenitely achieve it.

I left a career making a good income to pursue something that I thought was going to be a better fit for my personality; making MUCH MUCH less money. Now…I am working more than ever and making less than i did when I got out of college 10 years ago (but, now with a mortgage!). I have been out of the job market for 2 years and with conditions in the market being what they are, I find myself considering jobs that I know are not only entry level, but also far below my potential. I am a very intelligent, motivated, confident and capable woman. How can I market myself in this economy to potential employers given my career change? I want a job that challenges me, inspires me and pays me what I know I am worth.

sir Alex,
i have read your article,i have completed my b.tech,i want to do job,
but i am a question mark for myself,i don’t no what job i really like,what should i do,i am poor in skills,don’t know what type of courses i need to do.
i have taken ECE in my b.tech,i have 60% of aggregate,i doesn’t like software jobs.sir,can you give me some suggestion.

In essence, my take away from this piece is that you’re suggesting that we attend to the things that really matter to us, that connect to our values, that bring us energy and joy, when making job choices. And of course all of this makes a lot of sense, yet at the old saying goes, common sense is not so common. Thanks for reminding us.

I had a job were I work 6 days a week I was really happy and my boss is really the best that I had but when I apply to Company X which double my salary I thought I will be happier but I was wrong it really gave me stress and it feels hell everytime I go to work. So it better to be happy than getting a good salary that will make your life miserable. Thank you for your this site

I left my job for a new one with higher salary and title and I’ve been always regretting. Now I realize that there’s many things more important than money and we should choose a job that we ENJOY, not only to make a lot of money. Of course if it has both that’d be perfect!

Good day everyone! I hope you can help me decide and have a positive perspective on the situation where I am right now.

It’s been 2 months now that I am carrying it and I am really pissed and sick of the situation. I feel bad because 1. the management would like to move me from my current position – they already decided without asking me if it’s ok with me. the job they are giving me is certainly not the job that I will like and love. Currently I am performing as a Marketing Officer of our fresh goods for Asian countries. i do enjoy and love this job and I also believe I have done the job beyond what is expected of me. infact I received awards related to my job. Now since there was a re-alignment and the new Boss seems question my competency (or don’t really like me personally – only in my opinion) because may be I don’t fit to his expectation and or may be he wants to put somebody to fill my position.

But for me its not fair. because I invested so much for this job – when I was newly assigned to this job I made all efforts I could imagine just to make sure the job is done properly. When they assigned me to this job I was not trained I only learn from my own volition what is needed for the job. I worked equivalent of 3 to 4 employees, I barely slept for almost a year. I don’t sleep until I know everything is already in order. During those times I was even offered higher salary from other companies that would like to pirate me. But I stick to this job because of my commitment and love for the job. And now they are not considering that? It is so painful for me that it is so easy for them to decide to move me out from my current position – with all the efforts that I’ve done to the company.

At the end of the day i realized i am just an employee… I should have accepted my better offers before.

My constraints – since I am now so unhappy of the job I would like to tender my resignation however I am so broke, I have huge loans and will be difficult for me if I dont have a job plus debts. what shall I do? Should I stay until my debts are being paid off. and have to be patient as much as I could? I feel like hell.

I just want to say that this site was so helpful it gave me hope just when I lost all confidence. I hope that you guys can keep giving people more inspirrational help like this. You guys are such a great site for me to go on when all hope is lost I start feeling cheered up immediatley and I can start putting out alot of resumes with the confidence that I need. I hope that I will meet others so I can refer this site to them I have told my church about you guys and they are going to hang a thing up on there bulliton board for you guys.I will keep telling everyone about you guys and what a true help you guys are and in the mean time keep up the good site. Brandi

i had serious to think do what job for one and half years already but i still cant figure out what to do . i don’t have any friends except my boyfriend(the only one care about my career n myself,my family also can’t help me .i want do a job that have future ,salary enough for life ,give to family n some for saving,had abit standard and hope i will love my job.my boyfriend give me alot of suggestion n job n studies at where to me , i feel i don’t like all of that job or maybe not suitable for me….there have nurse ,sales girl,bank teller, clerk at big company ……my boyfriend think i should choose a good job that can guarantee our life in future because i have spm certificate but he don’t have and very regret about it.my brain always think to do what job , but cant get an answer, so i always don’t want to do any decision n let the time go until 5 years already.what should i do?please give me some advise so that i can continue my journey in my life,thanks alot .

There is nothing more true than what is written in this article. I spent 20 years working for a company that I was not happy with. It was a wrong fit in many ways and, at times, I hated ME. Over the years I bounced from one job to another in this company, hoping that the new position would make up for the things I hated. Short term this did happen, but it fizzled out over time and I was right back where I started. All along I was hoping that things would change and I tried to initiate that change to the better, but deep down things were always the same – I HATED working there. It was the company, not the work.

Finally, the company was sold off to a place in another town and the moment I heard, it was like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders! I was feeling fine, looking forward to unemployment and a chance to try something new down the road. The funny thing is, I was contracted by the new company for their transitional start-up, so I am working doing the same thing, but I am totally happy, despite the travel.

When the contract is over I will be unemployed. That’s just fine, because I am using it as an opportunity to find what I really want. I am packing up and moving away to where I want to be and starting over at 40. My do-over will by on MY terms and part of that is just what the article alludes to – being happy to go to work. Salary and all that don’t matter at all – I have learned that the hard way.

My work history is not stellar… the best sounding title I ever had was account manager, but that was really just a shit order entry job (even if I did turn the place around from a disorganized mess to something that functioned despite their total incompetence). And they fired me because they mismanaged their finances and had to keep an incompetent family member on board. Long story short, you can’t do what you love if you HATE absolutely everyone and everything on the planet. And the only job I ever had that I liked was in the music industry, but that has sorely tanked and it it is too late at 50 to start doing that again. This is all horse BS. I would be lucky to find a job where I only hate 80% it as opposed to 200%.

yeah, nice advice except for the fact that now that I went back to school and left a job making over forty thousand a year, I can’t even make ten bucks an hour now with my degree. I’ve got my degree in Graphic Design, I did great in school but, no one will hire me because I’m older and they know I have kids and a house and they think I’ll leave as soon as a better opportunity comes along. Or, they see my degree and won’t hire me because I’m over qualified.

My advice, find a job that pays well, stay there and make your life outside work worth it. Don’t believe the hype about getting your degree and living a great life with a job you love. I tried it and now I’m going to lose my house, my car and probably my family cause I can’t find work.

PS, when it comes to work, there is NOTHING more important than money. And don’t spend a penny of it on frivolous things because you will get kicked to the curb sooner than I did the way things are going.

Hi,
What if you had a baby and you have been unemployed for months now? I have my job dream but i need to think of my baby first. So i tend to go for the first job interview i get and always hope i get the job even though the job is not right for me. I guess i am going to get a little job to have money to make ends meet and at the same time i will continue searching for THE job i dream of. What do you think of this?

i have a feeling many do the job not that they really love it but out of neccessity and security. yes, ideally i want to be in love with my work. also, i find that many a time it’s a case of learning how to handle your boss and work so that YOUR LIFE is bearable

@beatrice, we all have priorities, i would not fault you for thinking of making ends meet first and satisfaction 2nd especially with a young child. hopefully, you will love your ‘little’ job as you put it, all the best.

Finding a career that really makes you “happy” is actually very difficult. Many jobs offer such an unwelcoming environment that after you are hired, you can tell “you’re not gonna be there long.” You either quit or they let you go. Some jobs have some of the most “petty” rules without respect to “adults” being adults, like the treatment of “peasants”, and servants-it is a wonder why Employment Commissions don’t persecute employers like ____ who lays of employees for petty rules like napping on lunch break, and beats up employees to sell customers. Employment anywhere should be with the respect of an individual as a co-partner in making the business work, sell, customer service, etc. Training should be with the respect of informing the new and old employees of all they need to do and know for high performance. I have worked many places that hire you and throw you in the “pit” and you have to figure out yourself how to make the workplace your home after receiving several “awful” reviews. Poor employee performance to me is a reflection of poor training. A new employee is hired and wants to do the best job because they were just hired and need the job. Managers are rude, don’t work by delegating all their duties to assistants, and co-workers don’t work together in unity to make coming to work a fun place to be. The best employment I have ever had……was self-employed or government where I worked in my office and did the same routine every day until a memo changed things. Being self employed like other people paid on commissions put you in an atmosphere where more of your encounters are polite and want to get the job done because they dont want their work to be free and we pay for much of our own training. With such ignorance in the work place- many find it hard to find a job where they can be happy. Some employers have managers that need to be forced into early retirement because they have lost the attitude of the company and are simply just collecting a check and they have been with the company too long to not respect others. If most of the country had ” Business Start-Up Money that did not require them to take out a loan to get a grant……….many could begin a business outside the home whose doors more than likely would not close within the first couple of months because the New-Business Owner would create for themself a great working environment with people who will help their business grow!!!! Why isnt our government working on this??? Instead of me looking for a place to work, I would much rather create my own business. Unemployment funds up to $300 week- so why must a loan be needed to get a grant for Business Start Up??? Hate to say it but, our government is meant to keep the poor-poorer and help those who qualify for loans headed for bankruptcy or slaves to the loans. Slavery, slavery, slavery. Definitely no color or race on it.

I hate work, every days is worse then the last. I have fealt this way since I left school 25 years ago. I have a career as an engineer and I am relatively well paid. I just get more hacked off as the years pass and think what a waste of my life. I have a mortgage and family to provide for but if I could start again, I would do something completely different. Music or something related to it would have been great. I feel like I am too old to start again. My wife is disabled and can no longer work and I feel uterly trapped in a life I can’t change. I dream of the day I retire… in 25 years. If I could fast forward to that and give up 25 years of my life, I’d do it in a flash. To be honest, I really haven’t had a single happy day at work my whole life.

Alexander, what a great article! So many people are so busy focusing on the money, and other irrelevant details, that whether they actually like the job takes a back seat. You say it as it is! I used to hate my job, and now that I do what I love, I find myself waiting for Monday so that I can get to work!

You still need a job that will pay the bills. Not only pay the bills, but a job that enables you to afford a place in a “decent’ neighborhood so you don’t get shot on the way to opening your door be it your house or your car. Did I say House and Car? well, that takes money. A low paying job isn’t going to afford you those luxuries.

How about food?
Have you seen the cost of food lately? Expensive. Especially if you want to eat healthy.

How about a girlfriend?
Even if you are good looking, by a certain age, 25+, if you don’t have a decent paying job, a decent place to live, a car, food in the refrigerator, a good dental plan, etc….your chances decrease vastly with a girl that is good looking that is successful themselves.

But you are passionate about your “career.” I know it doesn’t pay much and you have to bunk up with your parents or 5 other friends but you are loving life. Yeah, with your dick in your hand watching porno because no girl is coming over your house with 5 dudes watching over you in some shitty run down rented house that you ride your bike to and from your “passion” loving job.

I want to to find something I love to do. No question. And I hope to make good money doing it. Money that will buy me a place of my own, put food on my table, and have a good looking successful women in my bed who won’t be out the door because I’m some loser with a low paying job that can’t pay the rent, pay for food, etc.

But I’m optimistic. Still young. Going to give it my all. But how do I find what I want to do when I just don’t know?
I dropped out of college 3 times because school just never was for me. Never could overcome certain learning disabilities because I went to a shitty school which is another thing: If you somehow manage to find a girl and have kids, your passion loving low paying job will put her in some shit school and then she’ll either embrace the challenge or end up as a stripper snorting cocaine off some rich guys balls.

But I’m optimistic. I really am going to give this a go. I really want to find a job, I mean “Career” that I love doing. Something that I can feel is worth waking up for. Something that will help me lead a happier life.

I believe I can do it. I just might need some help, luck, and guidance.

THANK you for the bold statement that pay doesn’t matter (now if only size didn’t matter either!) … that is very liberating, and aligns with a book I just read from Kindle/Amazon called “How to find your best job ever” by Maggie Neilson, it is all about figuring out your own personal values and finding a job that lines up with them, and ultimately being happy.
It’s here – ttp://tinyurl.com/choxve3